Urkontinent is a Belgian-style dubbel that begins with Pilsner, Munich and Chocolate malts and Belgian Dark Candi syrup.

Then we add unique ingredients from around the world: Wattleseed from Australia imparts chocolate, coffee and hazelnut notes to the beer. Toasted amaranth from South America gives it an earthy, grainy flavor and a little additional roast flavor. Green rooibos from Africa contributes a floral aroma and slight astringency. Myrica gale from Europe supplements the bitterness from minimal hopping. Hiveplex Honey from California adds a subtle sweetness while maintaining the dry finish.

The careful combination of all these ingredients creates a complex, dark Belgian-style ale with wonderful coffee and chocolate-covered cherry flavors. The roastiness of the malt and wattleseed melds with the fruity esters from the yeast, the floral notes from the rooibos, and the malty yet dry signature of a Belgian dubbel. Urkontinent is perfect to enjoy with friends as the weather begins to cool.

Beer: Reviews & Ratings

From tasting notes. I had an aged bottle and a fresh one. For this beer fresh is better and I am reviewing the fresh bottle. A: Brilliant coffee brown under a lightly tan tinted 1” finely bubbled white foam collar that grips the side of the glass and produces intricate lace. S: Flowery cola on the nose with spice, chocolate, and pitted fruit. T: A very spicy palate with a cola quality seasoned with chocolate, coffee, spice, pitted fruit and malty sweetness that dries out by the finish. M: Creamy, medium to medium full body and medium carbonation. O: An unusual and interesting beer. (595 characters)

Pours a brown body with minimal head and lacing. Aroma is chocolatey with coffee/roasted malts and a bit of dark/black cherry and possible other dark fruits. Medium bodied, smooth, slick, it seems like chocolate covered cherries mixed with touch of coffee and I get a not so quite sweet and sour vibe but there seems to be a dry, tart edge at times in this beer. Finished easy and sweet with very little hops and the eight percent alcohol well hidden, and I also get touches of caramel/toffee sweetness and floral spice at times. I'm not sure what style this beer is as it is different and my review doesn't really do it justice. One of those beer that you'll really like or really not want to have again. (705 characters)

Kept this one cold for the past few years, bottled in 2012. Poured into an Allagash chalice. Dark brown with royal purple highlights. Tan, two finger head. Very aromatic smell; smells like a box of chocolates when you first open it. Very enticing.

Cherry cordial flavors all the way; based on the description here, it seem like that was the goal and this ale delivers. Interesting layers of cocoa and strong tea. A woodsy, nutty note lingers underneath the esters. Finishes a bit sweet and creamy, but has a semi-dry quality to it. Medium-full bodied.

Really interesting take on the dubbel style. Enjoyable and unique, and perfect as a dessert beer. I can see having this with good french vanilla ice cream. Another quality brew from DFH. (742 characters)

Poured from a 750ml into a shaker pint, the beer is a very dark, almost opaque, mud-brown coloring with a foamy, light tan head on the pour that quickly settles into a tight surface coat. Aromas of nut sweetness, creamy highlights, mocha, raw honey, and roasted highlights. Smells delicious. Flavors are extremely rich and sweet forward, with a heavy nut sweetness, rich fig and date notes, a biscuit and bread backbone, and some subtle spicing throughout. Notes of raw honey, rich caramel, and cinnamon seem to be in there, too. Looking at the label, I don't know what half that shit is, but this is what I'm tasting, and it's pretty damn good. Rich, smooth, robust body, with a heavy, richly sweet, tangy aftertaste. The finish is also on the sweet side, with a decent linger. This beer is heavy, but it is tasty. Really unique flavor profiles, too. (851 characters)

Dark brown to mahogany in color. A thin bit of khaki colored head covers part of the top of the beer. Brussels lacing. I get mainly notes of chocolate,honey, and rooibos within the nose., but it is a bit overwhelmingly sweet. The mouth is a bit sticky and yet creamy. The taste is very malty and sweet with a dry malted finish. (327 characters)

First full review I've taken the time to do in awhile. 750 ml bottled… sometime in 2012, poured into a DFH snifter.

Appearance: Deep mahogany. A thin off white thugh creamy head that lingers as the beer rests. Decent lacing.

Smell: Malty, sweet belgian sugar, yeast, dark fruit (plum, cherry)

Taste: Roasted malts, some herbal spice coming from the rooibos. Belgian candied sugar and honey sweetness and dark fruits, chocolate covered cherries come to mind and battle through the finish with what I can assume is the wattleseed that imparts a roasty grain like finish.

Mouthfeel: Complex with lots of strong flavors hitting at different moments. very good use of all ingredients, especially the honey, I feel like you can really pick out what trait each ingredient provides. The carb is very light and airy, which makes the beer feel lighter than it's 8% and dark flavors would lead on. Also gives it a great drinkability and smoothness but is still a good beer to perhaps share w/ others.

A: The beer is slightly hazy dark reddish brown in color. It poured with a short off white head that died down and left a collar around the edge of the glass. S: Light to moderate aromas of unusual spices are present in the nose.T: The taste is similar to the smell, except that there are also some notes of candi sugars. M: It feels just about medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate. Amount of carbonation. O: This beer has some interesting ingredients, but they don't really blend well into this beer. The only part that seems like a dubbel is the candi sugar flavors. (582 characters)

750ml Bottle, aged for few months before tasting.Pouring dark brown with some mahogany and red tones, somewhat clear not to hazy. Nice off-white creamy head of ½ inch thick.N- Caramel, cocoa, dark fruits/red fruits, honey, roasted grain.M&T- Surprisingly not too heavy! Medium to full bodied beer. Carbonation is medium and bitterness is just great. Something if floral here and it is pleasant. Definitively on the sweet side like the Belgian dubbel, very reminiscent of those Flander’s brown ale. Alcohol warmth is present becoming more intense while rewarming. Flavours of caramel, nuts,roasted grains, dates, toast, watermelon (?!). Aftertaste reveals tea like flavours. Very complex in flavours, Overall, a challenging beer that well deserve sharing with a buddy rather than drinking it on your own, simply for having inputs to from your friends on the brew and having the pleasure to “decorticates” a challenging beer. A very good beer from DFH. (961 characters)

Poured a flat brown with little to no head.Sweet chicory and light black tea flavor.Spicy finish with a cloying clingy film left over on the finish.This is a perfect example of when a beer ceases to be a beer due to the degree of added ingredients.This "beer" is barely drinkable, i forced down 8 oz, the rest will be used in cooking.Even after cleansing my palette with an extra trappist beer, i still have a cloying film lingering from this awful beer. i wish i could give negative ratings. (497 characters)

Pours a sienna brown color in the Bellegems Bruin tall glass. Nicely foamy and plenty of spritz on the tongue. Is that fingernail polish I smell? Very odd phenolic odor.

Tastes so earthy, I'd say it's more like dirt. Think of how wet, mildewy wood smells. Now imagine how it would taste in a beer. The flavors lurch around and vanish, leaving the taste of cheap root beer with a bitterish edge. I taste old beets, buckwheat honey, nut shells, and some kind of hard candy. I don't know how this could be called a Dubbel, but if it has to be rated that way the competition is a little overwhelming.

Maybe after having spent $15 for this people have a need to like it. I have an need to try one more half glass tomorrow before I feed it to the African daisies. From the DF-branded 500 ml capped bottle bought at Liticker's in San Diego. (835 characters)

Darker than a typical dubbel, this one's a dark brown rather than the usual orange-to-red range. It's opaque despite its darker color, with lots of clarity. A small, almost pure white head comes up, reaching almost one finger, but it quite creamy and dense. Lacing is spotty but plentiful.There's a lot going on in this beer. The nose does hold the nutty and chocolaty notes promised, with a strong earthy note as well. The earthiness even includes a bit of peat or soil to it. A touch of coffee comes out with the roastiness. There's a note of something translating almost to metallic. A bit of dark fruits come out in the flavor, where the metallic note falls off. Some woods and a little spiciness pull out as well.The body is pretty rich and quite full, rounding out to a medium nearing full. It's perhaps a bit much for a dubbel, though not bad. There's a bit of a stickiness. It nears cloying in its sweetness even as alcohol pulls through the finish. (1,007 characters)

750ml bottle poured into a gobletA: Pours a dark brown color with a strong red tint and a one-finger latte colored headS: Cocoa nibs, freshly baked wheat bread, a hint of coffee beans, no hops to speak of. "Roasted" is the name of the day and I like itT: The bread is not as pronounced as the nose, but adds dried fruit (cherry, plum & fig in particular), a touch of honey/spice round it outM: Medium-bodied, a bit sweet. I would like it better with a touch of carbonationO: Solid, enjoyable to try. Many components you see in other styles of beer all rolled into one (572 characters)

Pours a dark chestnut brown color that's completely opaque with purplish/plum hues and a one finger beige head that slowly settles into a thin ring. Sporadic splotches of lace left behind.

Surprisingly roasty aroma forthe style with a bit of toast, dark chocolate, caramel and coffee bean. This is not overwhelming, however, with subtle earthy hops and a good bit of estery dark fruit notes, notably grape and dark cherry.

Medium bodied and again, has a bit more roast than expected. The experimental ingredients give complexity to a style that can become boring adding a nice balance to the alcohol sweetness and estery dark fruit flavors. Hints of dark chocolate, toffee, oatmeal and subtle coffee bean flavor followed by alcohol, plum, raisin and dark cherry. Kind of like a roasted dark chocolate covered cherry. There's also some subtle hop bitterness and well masked ABV making this complex beer very easy to drink. Nice experimental beer from dfh for a change. (1,029 characters)

A: This poured a clear black ruby with some light tan head.S: It smelled like whole wheat bread and roasted barley and copper hops, with some sunflower seed and wild honey.T: It tasted like sweet honey and earthy whole grain bread, with some brown sugar and copper hops and a bit of sunflower seeds. It had a clean and mostly sweet aftertaste.M: It was oily with moderate carbonation. Nice full body.D: This was not super unique, but still fairly different from most new beers today. The scent and taste were well crafted, and the body was solid. The finish was mellow with well hidden alcohol, so it was quite easy to drink. It doesn't need age, but could probably last a few more years. Not much more than a strong brown ale with a twist to me, but still enjoyable. (771 characters)

Poured this Belgian Dubbel from a bottle into a pint glass. This ale poured a dark reddish/brown color, produced a thick off white head, decent retention and left a decent amount of lacing on the glass. The aroma had a foundation of malted grain, Belgian yeast, honey and spice. . Full bodied, this ale had a malted grain base, chocolate malt and the distinct fruity Belgian yeast. Slightly sweet with a semi dry finish. Very interesting spice profile, this is probably where all of the exotic ingredients come into play. Dogfish kept with the "Pangea" theme and chose an ingredient from each continent. I had to use the Intertubes to figure out what the heck Waddleseed, Aramath, and Myrica Gale was.... Very nice Winter Warmer, nice session beer if you have a pal to share it with- The St. Charles Whisker Biscuit assisted me with this brute, and I am glad I had a helping hand. Big Beer at 8%- Glad I tried this one- not outstanding but for an experimental beer it makes for a nice session. (993 characters)

Pours a dark brown color with tints of red visible when held to the light and lighter highlights around the edges. The head is a one finger slightly off white slightly khaki colored soapy head which recedes to edging a skim and leave some strands of lace around the edge. The aroma is of candied yeast along with honey and a slight coco aroma. The taste is very complex. The beer starts with a dark candied yeast at the very front there is then a slight coffee flavor before a very big and bold dark chocolate flavor comes in and dominates. The back end has a cherry dark fruit sweetness to it. The mouthfeel is sticky and velvety. Overall this is a very complex and different beer, it took a few drinks to really appreciate all that is going on with this one. (760 characters)

so much more than just a dubbel, and such a categorization hardly does justice to what this beer really is. it pours really dark brown, hardly a ray of light coming through, with a prominent and lasting off white head of a few foamy inches. the nose is a little spicy, like a rye beer, and i can only imagine that comes from the wattle seed, which i am familiar with from my time down under. the sweetness seems to be low, and the yeast strong. the african tea is right up front. taste is also dominated by that fruity tea flavor, and any honey used in this brew was for accents only, as the malt has more of a bready oompg to it, rather than any sort of light sweet pastry feeling. a lot going on in this beer, i love the idea behind it, and i think its executed better than a lot of the crazy dogfish imaginative beers. lots of carbonation, awesome yeast strain used here, gives the beer a great feel, not too heavy over the full body. overall one of the better dogfis head beers ive had lately. was perfect with all the christmas cookies, and ill be buying this again. heard its even better on tap, so ill look out for that too! (1,131 characters)

The beer has a dull sorghum brown. In the glass it has a much darker hue - stained mahogany and tobacco. Two finger head fizzes out after several minutes leaving thin washes of foam. Basically no lace.

The aroma reminds me of spunky American brown ales: toasted dark bread, and earthy and nutty tones. Of course, there are some Dogfishy smells in here: cola, herbal root and sweet pollen. Suggestions of chocolate-covered coffee beans. Maybe a dusting of pine.

The flavor is similar in terms of the brown ale thing; lots of dark bread - toasty and spiced. The Dogfishiness isn't quite as strong as the aroma. Mild herbs. Moderate sweetness that builds over time. The finish dries up pretty well. Rather sugary after several hours The alcohol is hidden well.

The body is on the high side of medium, underpinned by some mild bready grit. Carbonation is ample at the onset, but dies off to a much more comfortable feel. It also has the rare kind of coating finish that is actually enjoyable.

Kind of strange, but I don't mind it at all. It certainly isn't as over-the-top as I was expecting. I would drink it again, but wouldn't go out of my way for a bottle. Worth a shot. (1,239 characters)

Presentation: 750 ml brown custom DFH capped bottle. Retro illustration with assorted fonts, and a sky orbe pointing to the continents in a ridge profile. Small side note noting main characteristics and intent. Shows 8% Alc. by Vol. Served in tulip glass.

A - Deep brown/crimson pour, small frothy head, moderate retention with good surface memory and touches of lacing.

O - Pleasing brew, an unusual take on a dubbel that works rather well.

Notes: Well worth the try, and it is neither as disjointed as some told me or as extraordinary as others suggested. Nice brew in any case, and I would not mind at all having it again the future. (973 characters)

A slightly muddy brown body with a tan two finger cap. Some lines of lace as it recedes. Some mahogany comes through around the edges as you hold it up to the light. The nose is of chocolate, figs, raisins, cherries, faint coffee, vanilla, and honey. A very sweet nose. On the palate, the sweetness is hidden a little better. Semi-sweet cocoa and dried fruit up front before a wave of sweet honey, caramel, cherries, and vanilla. The finish is some mild coffee grounds, roast, and dark chocolate. The roasty notes linger for a decent amount of time. On the lighter side of medium. The body seemed to lack a little heft for the style. Decent brew that I am glad to have tried, but I won't seek this one out again. (748 characters)

On draft @ Two Stone Wilmington In a goblet, pours dark mahogany with a beige head that hugs the glass but doesn't really lace. Smell is Belgium dark with a noticeable alcohol aromaChocolate and cherry are the dominant flavors. ABV is stealth but there. Overall, this a nice winter warmer. We balanced and very soothing (323 characters)

We agreed that this beer is something akin to a Palo Santo Light, if there were such a thing.

Pours like a really dirty dishwater dark brown with a near white head. Nose is similar to a dark Belgian Dubbel, some liquor on the nose as well. Taste is a mix of boldness and subtle blends-- toffee, coffee, chocolate, occasionally wild cherry. An interesting offering, it still left us somewhere between savoring and sipping versus occasionally odd and puzzled expressions. (528 characters)